Beat the Small, Then Beat the Old

"Ma Hongjun, you and Oscar take Xiao San back to Shrek Academy." Yu Xiaogang spoke. "No private fights."

"No private fights, or no guts for one?" Jiang Mian heard Yu Xiaogang's voice and immediately cursed: "You sanctimonious hypocrite, who do you think you are to speak?"

"What are you, to dare rebuke me?" Yu Xiaogang flicked his sleeve, speaking coolly.

"You stole Martial Soul Hall's data, compiled it as your own work, and passed yourself off as a scholar—a monkey in a cap and gown, utterly ridiculous!" Jiang Mian exposed Yu Xiaogang's true face without mercy.

"You!" Yu Xiaogang's face flushed crimson, but he found no words to refute Jiang Mian, left only to rage impotently.

Before leaving, Jiang Mian didn't forget to taunt: "A useless teacher leading trash students—with strength like that, you dare covet the Spirit Master Tournament? Hah, what a joke."

"That felt great." Yan walked beside Jiang Mian with his hands behind his head, humming a tune. "Brother Mian, I never expected you to be this strong, and with so many ideas too."

"Their teacher once betrayed the Pope, and those students aren't good people either." Jiang Mian chuckled. "That's why I humiliated them like that."

"You don't need to explain to us." Hu Liena smiled faintly, sidling up to Jiang Mian. "Whatever you do, we'll support you. From now on, we're teammates who live and die together."

As she spoke, Hu Liena casually took Zhu Zhuqing and the auspicious beast's hands. The three beauties, each with their own charm, exchanged smiles, seeming to get along well.

The sun set, and night fell.

Jiang Mian and the others found an inn and ordered some simple, tasty dishes.

Knock knock knock.

Someone was knocking at the inn room door. Jiang Mian opened it, but no one was there—only a fading afterimage at the corner.

Was someone trying to lure him out? Skeptical, Jiang Mian instructed: "You all eat first. Bear Lord, come with me. Scarlet King, protect them."

"Alright."

Bear Lord followed behind Jiang Mian. The two moved swiftly, reaching the corner in the blink of an eye. But strangely, this time Jiang Mian only caught another afterimage, unable to tell if the visitor was human or ghost.

"Bear Lord, can you sense who it is?" Jiang Mian asked in a low voice.

"A Titled Douluo, not weak in strength, but carrying a serious hidden ailment." Bear Lord said flatly.

"I see." Jiang Mian realized. "Beat the young, and the old comes calling."

"Then we'll beat the old one too." Bear Lord sneered. "With strength like that, daring to stick his neck out?"

"Isn't the saying 'tuck in your head like a turtle'? What's this 'stick out your neck like a turtle'?" Jiang Mian's earlier tension vanished as he teased. "Guess my knowledge is shallow."

"A fight, just to stretch the limbs." Bear Lord said with some resignation. "Just don't let it be like that Titled Douluo we met in the Star Dou Great Forest—couldn't take a hit, no fun at all."

"Who told you to be too strong?" Jiang Mian patted Bear Lord's belly. "Let's go. Don't keep them waiting."

Bear Lord shot Jiang Mian a glare. Hitting people while being so polite—this kid really had twists and turns like a snail's shell.

In the forest outside the city, a middle-aged man in a black cloak silently awaited Jiang Mian's arrival.

Sure enough, Jiang Mian and Bear Lord soon caught up to him, and Jiang Mian immediately recognized the visitor—Tang San's father, Tang Hao!

"I thought it was who, but it's just the old man of that waste from today." Jiang Mian chuckled.

"You knew and still dared to strike Xiao San like that?" Tang Hao was furious, his tone icy.

"Just an old relic—what's there to fear?" Jiang Mian couldn't help sneering. "Nothing but a useless fool who couldn't even protect his wife."

"If you're trying to anger me..." Tang Hao raised his hand, summoning the legendary number one tool spirit, the Haotian Hammer, into his grip. "Then you've succeeded."

Two yellow, two purple, four black, one red.

Spirit rings descended from the sky, dyeing the originally dark heavens red.

"I've killed a few Haotian Hammer spirit masters before." Bear Lord scratched his head, grinning. "But I've never killed one at the Titled Douluo level."

With that, Bear Lord suddenly revealed his true form—a mountain-like giant bear standing before Jiang Mian, as immovable as a city wall, the Immovable Wisdom King.

"Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear?" Tang Hao laughed coldly. "I didn't expect a beast to dare enter the human world."

"Little thing, you're quite arrogant." Bear Lord swatted a palm at him. Tang Hao gripped the hammer handle with both hands, using the momentum to swing.

The collision produced a harsh, grating metallic screech. Luckily, Jiang Mian was already a Soul King; if a lower-level spirit master had heard that noise here, their eardrums would have shattered.

"Strong." Tang Hao chuckled, swinging the Haotian Hammer rapidly. Bear Lord stood unmoved, easily blocking the thousand-jun heavy hammer with just his hands.

"Is that the Chaotic Cape Hammer Technique?" Jiang Mian recognized the move—it was the Clear Sky Sect's secret art. Legend said each strike was stronger than the last, and by the eighty-first, it could topple a city!

"Just a sideshow." Bear Lord lashed out with a Sky Rend Claw, its momentum unstoppable.

Tang Hao hurriedly swung his hammer to clash head-on with Bear Lord, barely managing to block the Sky Rend Claw with the Haotian Hammer's power.

Man and bear fought fiercely, the air filled with constant, grating metallic sounds.

Jiang Mian covered his ears. Even at the Soul King level, he could barely withstand the high-intensity energy fluctuations.

"Haha, I'll hold you here, but what about your companions at the inn?" Tang Hao laughed heartily. "You can't possibly have two such experts, can you?"

"Oh, how did you know?" Jiang Mian feigned surprise. "Actually, it's not just two—there are five!"

"What!" Tang Hao's eyes widened. He hadn't expected them to have so many top-tier experts. He had secretly planned with Yu Xiaogang today to lure away the team's leader, leaving the rest to Flander and the others.

After all, no matter how strong the leader of these brats was, they couldn't have two Titled Douluo, right?

And now you're telling Tang Hao that Jiang Mian had four more experts like this?

Tang Hao took a deep breath. The yellow spirit ring beneath his feet suddenly shattered, dissolving into specks of light that merged into his body.

"Bombing the rings?" Jiang Mian's expression remained calm as he said, "Bear Lord, be careful. This move is formidable."

"Is that so?" The Bear Lord unleashed the Sky Rend Claw, which was said to be capable of tearing space itself, trying to forcibly interrupt Tang Hao's ring explosion.

"Great Sumeru Hammer!"

Tang Hao roared, activating his Martial Soul Avatar first. A massive, illusory red Tang Hao slowly emerged behind him, the phantom wielding a Haotian Hammer nearly matching the Bear Lord's size. With one hammer strike, heaven and earth shifted color.

The Bear Lord snorted coldly and actually took the blow head-on with his skull!

A deep, resonant sound like a great bell tolled across the sky and earth. The Bear Lord landed hard on his rear, his forehead fur scattered, but with no visible injuries—only dizziness and blurred vision.

Having landed a hit, Tang Hao dared not linger and quickly fled the area. If he stayed any longer and the Bear Lord came to his senses, he'd surely leave his life behind as well.

A soul beast that could withstand a bombed-ring Great Sumeru Hammer without injury—how could he possibly have any chance of victory?

"Damn it, he got away." The Bear Lord reverted to human form, a large red lump already swelling on his head. He grimaced as he rubbed it, snarling, "That bastard really can't be underestimated. He hit me so hard I'm seeing stars."

"He's fast on his feet." Jiang Mian offered the Bear Lord a word of comfort, chuckling, "Otherwise, we'd have taken him down today."

The Bear Lord laughed gruffly. He still had a lot of respect for Jiang Mian; the kid's ruthless edge suited his tastes.

"Did that guy just say something about sending people after the Auspicious Beast and the others?" The Bear Lord asked in surprise. "How drunk do you have to be to pull that? Yan's a waste, sure, but he's more than enough to handle those weaklings."

"The enemy thinks you're the only top-tier powerhouse with us," Jiang Mian said with disgust. "But this kind of underhanded sneak attack after losing a fight is just sickening. Looks like those brats still need some training."

Inside the inn...

Yan looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun lying on the ground, barely breathing. He stepped forward, patted their cheeks, and signaled Yan to bring some fire.

Earlier, Flander had appeared at the inn, luring Yan and Xie Yue away. By the time Zhao Wuji arrived, he was sent flying by the Auspicious Beast and Yan.

At the time, Xie Yue and Yan had wanted to test themselves, so they suggested to Yan that they take on these two Soul Saints themselves. Even if they couldn't win, Yan and the Auspicious Beast would be there to back them up.

After all, opportunities like this were once in a lifetime.

Flander and Zhao Wuji were never a match for the Auspicious Beast and Yan in a direct fight. If Yan hadn't agreed to let Xie Yue and Yan gain some experience, those two wouldn't have lasted so long.

Because they were slow to arrive, and Yan and the Auspicious Beast didn't intervene, they managed to hold out until Tang Hao showed up.

Tang Hao shattered all his remaining soul rings, pouring everything into a single Great Sumeru Hammer strike aimed at Xie Yue and Yan, forcing Yan and the Auspicious Beast to block it together.

He then took the chance to retreat with Flander and Zhao Wuji.

But this came at a cost for Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, who had followed the two. They watched as everyone was lured away, leaving only Hu Liena and Zhu Zhuqing in the room.

Seeing the two beautiful girls, they assumed they were weak and helpless.

Who could have guessed that these two were also incredibly powerful—one a forty-sixth-level Soul Ancestor, the other a thirty-ninth-level Soul Elder?

Zhu Zhuqing showed Dai Mubai no mercy. She didn't even acknowledge him as a person. After dealing with both of them, she went back to her room to cultivate alone.

"Zhuqing." Jiang Mian and the Bear Lord hurried back. He looked at the two pretending to be dead on the floor with utter disdain. "Yan, throw them out. They're disgusting."

"Jiang Mian." Hu Liena quietly sidled up to him, smiling. "Those two had no idea what was good for them. They tried to ambush me and Sister Zhuqing. Lucky for us, they were useless."

"Where's Zhuqing?" Jiang Mian patted Hu Liena's hand, smiling. "I'm going to check on her."

"Sister Zhuqing went to her room—the one at the end of the hallway." Hu Liena's expression showed clear jealousy, but she still smiled as she told Jiang Mian where Zhu Zhuqing was.

"Good. You two handle these guys. Just don't kill them," Jiang Mian said. "We still need to send them back to humiliate Shrek. Of course, crushing one or two of their... parts is fine."

"Oh!" Xie Yue and Yan instinctively covered their crotches. That remark was genuinely terrifying.

"I'm going to see Zhuqing." After giving his orders, Jiang Mian headed toward Zhu Zhuqing's room.

He knew Zhu Zhuqing recognized Dai Mubai, and he was afraid she might be reminded of old memories from the Soul King days, so he wanted to check on her quickly.

"Zhuqing." Jiang Mian reached the door and knocked gently, speaking softly. "It's me, Jiang Mian."

"The door's unlocked." Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice came from inside. Jiang Mian sensed something was off—Zhuqing didn't usually talk to him like that.

He crept in quietly, opening the door, and found Zhu Zhuqing sitting cross-legged on the bed, cultivating. Not wanting to disturb her, he sat silently beside her.

"Jiang Mian, I..." Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes, tears welling up. Her brows trembled slightly, as if she had a thousand grievances but couldn't voice them.

"I'm here for you." Jiang Mian gently wrapped his arms around Zhu Zhuqing, pulling her into his embrace. She leaned against him, as if this gave her a sense of security. "I don't want to lose."

"You won't." Jiang Mian patted her back softly, smiling. "With me here, you'll never lose."

"Jiang Mian, will you always stay with me?" Zhu Zhuqing suddenly hugged him tightly, her voice trembling. "You won't abandon me, will you?"

Years of royal life had left Zhu Zhuqing deeply lacking in security and trust. Both of those feelings now came from Jiang Mian.

So she was terrified of losing him—especially after seeing Dai Mubai today, which stirred up old memories, making her fear even more.

"I won't." Jiang Mian's voice was soft but firm. "I will never leave you."

"Mm." Hearing his answer, Zhu Zhuqing lay in his arms, her voice growing softer until she slowly drifted off to sleep.

She hadn't had a peaceful sleep in years. From birth, she'd had to surpass her sister, living under immense pressure all this time. No one could endure that, let alone a twelve-year-old girl like Zhuqing.

Jiang Mian let her use his lap as a pillow, stroking her hair with a look of deep affection.

Even if the Auspicious Beast's form was his first love, even if Hu Liena's beauty was more alluring, even if they both had a place in his heart, Jiang Mian knew his own heart—Zhu Zhuqing held an irreplaceable spot in it.

The night passed without a word. Dawn came.

Zhu Zhuqing's lips parted slightly. She hadn't expected to sleep so soundly that she'd even drooled.

Jiang Mian hadn't moved at all. He'd held the same position all night, afraid that if he so much as stirred, Zhu Zhuqing would wake up.

"Hm?" Zhu Zhuqing stirred groggily awake. She felt a cool dampness on her face and looked down to see that the fabric of Jiang Mian's trousers was soaked through.

Her small face instantly flushed crimson. She quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and looked at Jiang Mian with an apologetic expression.

"It's nothing." Jiang Mian was just about to stand up and stretch his limbs when his foot slipped, and he thudded straight to his knees—landing squarely in front of Zhu Zhuqing.

"Jiang Mian." Xie Yue pushed the door open. Taking in the scene inside, a look of sudden understanding dawned on his face. He chuckled, snapped the door shut again, and said, "I'm interrupting. You two carry on."

"Get back here. What's the matter, exactly?"

"The Pope has ordered us to meet her in the Sunset Forest. She's going there to hunt soul beasts."